Circular Economy Risk, Consequence and Contingency Plan

The Introduction section outlines:

• the importance of system resilience, defined as strategic coordination, sector-wide risk planning, and improved management practices
• the concept of a circular economy, focusing on reducing environmental impact and promoting economic growth through efficient resource use
• the legislative context of the CERCC Plan, including the obligations of government and industry under the Circular Economy (Waste Reduction and Recycling) Act 2021.

The Context section covers:

• the purpose and scope of the CERCC Plan
• the role of Recycling Victoria in supporting the development of the circular economy
• examples of service interruptions and emergencies that have affected the sector in recent years.

This section outlines the geopolitical, economic, and environmental risks highlighted in the World Economic Forum Global Risk Report 2023 relevant to the sector in Victoria. 

It also explains how Recycling Victoria, through the CERCC Plan, is contributing to the global movement towards sustainable development by addressing four of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development goals.

This section provides an overview of national trends and emerging issues in Australia's circular economy. It highlights Australian government measures to enhance local processing and recycling capacity, and to minimise waste through packaging redesign. 

It also discusses risk management practices in Victoria's waste sector, noting variations in risk culture and the need for sector-wide risk mitigation strategies due to the interconnected nature of the industry.

The section outlines the risk assessment process that Recycling Victoria used to develop the CERCC Plan. 

It highlights that this process was:

• aligned with relevant ISO guidelines and Recycling Victoria’s strategic objectives
• informed by industry consultations and stakeholder feedback. 

This section provides details of the extensive consultations conducted by Recycling Victoria for the CERCC Plan, fulfilling legal requirements and gathering industry insights. 

Table 1 in this section provides detailed descriptions of the 6 serious risks identified through the CERCC Plan risk assessment process. These are: 

1. contamination
2. external threats
3. planning issues
4. social acceptance challenges
5. internal threats
6. economic stressors.

This section also outlines Recycling Victoria’s support for responsible entities to meet their risk management obligations, and the Victorian Government’s commitment to policies and programs that will reduce the sector’s vulnerability to risks.

The appendices contain key information such as:

• waste service types prescribed as essential under the circular economy regulations (Appendix 1) 
• definition of a responsible entity (Appendix 2)
• market volumes, enabling entities to self-assess and determine their responsible entity status as a portion of the Victorian market (Appendix 3)
• the criteria informing how sector risks were rated can be found in the risk assessment and rating references (Appendix 4)
• participants in the Victorian waste, recycling and resource recovery sector (Appendix 5).